


injustice tastes like the iron tang of blood

by starlightandink



Category: Original Work
Genre: Colonial Mentality, Colonialism, Gen, Objectification, Poetry, Racism, a slightly more in depth explanation is in the notes, abt how people view the philippines, and asia in general, and bc like all people of color i'm tired of being inferior, as you can tell from the tags, bc it really isn't, folks this is NOT a light hearted or fun poem, i wrote this bc i was angry, it's very much a vent poem, sexualization, think again, you think this constant sexualization is fun?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26908648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightandink/pseuds/starlightandink
Summary: You do not see us the way you should, if you even think us worthy of being seen at all.
Kudos: 7





	injustice tastes like the iron tang of blood

where am i? / you tell me; i'm not the one doin' this / i'm not the liar / i look for myself in the dark of the cinema / in the glow of the TV / in the headlines / in the pages of history and fantasy on my desk / and i'm not there, not there, not there / huh / guess you forgot about me somewhere 'long the way / guess you forgot about _human_ and started to see _objects_

what's the problem? / what's _my_ problem? / god, i shouldn't have expected you to understand / you drip poison from your lips and think it's sweet, sweet ambrosia / of course you don't fucking understand / because you paint your sight black / paint it _blank_ / and dammit, would you just _listen_ to what—

_all my life_ / _i've been scared of men standing over me._ / 'cept, honey, don't you see it's not just the men? / see, it's not just men who stand over me in my dreams

you say, _you don't exist._

you say, _what's it to you?_

i hear unwanted / i hear worthless / i hear pretty thing / i hear wet dream / so i look for myself / because i want something more / i want to be more than the exotic, sexy beauty / i want to be the hero of my story / but i see unwanted / but i see worthless / but i see pretty thing / but i see wet dream / and you say, _you don't exist_ / and you say, _you're nothing_ / and you say, _you're only a man's fantasy_ / and you say, _we own you_

there are looming pedestals / and marble heights / and roads paved gold / all for you / and they were made by us / we want respect / but you crush us under your heels instead / we want respect / but your mouths drip with a history of bloody conquest / and a thousand-year-long ignorance / down, down, down we go / buried six feet under ground / covered by _savage_ and _uncivilized_ and _subhuman_ / while you reach ever upwards / riding on the back of all the misery you've caused

your history books lied to me / because they say we were nothing before you came / your news networks lied to me / because they say you're more important than us / your authors lied to me / because they say we can never be important / your TV shows lied to me / because they say we don't exist / your movies lied to me / because they say we're only there as props

what's the problem? / what's _my_ problem? / where am i?

you tell me.

  


— they raise their weapons and come after me  
when i spit the blood on their feet

**Author's Note:**

> this is, to be clear, _not_ an "i hate white people" thing. i don't want to have to explain that but i also don't want to deal with any angry people in my comments or harassing me on tumblr or instagram. and i'm tired of being considered inferior. 
> 
> look i'm gonna level with you: this shit is exhausting. do you know how it feels, to have someone look at you and see a sex toy instead of a human? do you know what it's like to have yourself be fetishized? or to know that foreigners make wives of your country's women because they want someone so grateful so as to be subservient to them? someone that cannot or will not say no?
> 
> i do. i've seen how people look at us. i've seen how people refer to us. but odds are likely that _you_ have not. so until you understand that and you've lived it, experienced it: keep quiet and let me vent.
> 
> find me on [tumblr](https://we-are-made-of-stories.tumblr.com/).


End file.
